Rest Week?

One week after accomplishing my goal of surviving the Wilson Creek Frozen 50K, I had to opportunity to head out to the trails for a couple hours.  Not ever passing up on an opportunity to be out there, I decided to head out to Wilson Creek again for a little recovery jog/hike on the 10 mile loop of the 50K course.  Since the race is over, I felt free to explore the trails in whatever way I wanted, not sticking to the "course" and just going where I felt.  I decided that I would head over to the Reynolds canyon again but instead of taking the course, I went up the big rocky hill right off the parking area and then took trail 300 over to the canyon, going basically on the 10 mile "course" but in the reverse direction.  It was a really awesome day.  On the way out there I had to stop for a photo of the hulking Wilson Peak as seen off of Highway 45 as you drop down to the Snake River.

Following my little trip through the Reynolds canyon I went over to trail 500/501 and took 501 up to the top of the ridge where the trail intersects with Wilson Creek road.  From there, I wasn't sure exactly which direction I was going to head, but upon arriving I decided to drop down to Wilson Creek on trail 160 and then onto the twisty trail 100.  One week after the race, the trail was still a little bit roughed up, but there will likely be a quick turnaround for the trails as they are primarly sand and often get washed out by runoff coming down from the Wilson Creek watershed. 

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty nice day out.  My legs feel great except for a nagging pain in my left hip flexor (thanks to 10 lb mud brick shoes last weekend) and my left knee is sore from a tight IT-band issue.  I'll have to take a nap instead of a run tomorrow and ease into next week with some self-therapy on the foam roller and the "stick."  Maybe a few days on the bike would be a good thing.  The primary goal for the next month is to get back to 100% as quickly as possible so that I can slowly build up to a solid block of training going into June.   

Here are a few shots of today's outing... I hope that you find them enjoyable and inspiring in some way.  As always, feel free to leave comments below.  That makes the blog thing a little more fun for me.



The round figure of Wilson Peak lurking near the center, oh the carnage last weekend.  Temps were hovering just below freezing with lots of sun and light winds.  Its amazing what 1 week does for you... Notice the small coyote, or is that a stray dog?



I've wanted to tackle that little rock mound for a while, I just never got around to it.  Today I went straight up that bad boy to begin the run.  Its a nice little rock scramble to get on the tip-top; amazing view though.

Lots of wide open high desert out here.

This is the wonderful little Reynolds Creek that carved out the magnificent little canyon everyone seems to be enjoying.  It is truly a little gem out here in the Owyhees.

Another beautiful shot of the creek.  I just wanted to sit here for a while but unfortunately I was on borrowed time and had to keep moving.  I did hang out long enough to retie my shoes and absorb a little bit of the moment.

I had to do at least 1 self timer shot.  This is the little climb out from the Canyon on Trail 510.

One of the purposes of this little trip was to test out these retro Brooks Cascadia 2's that I got from a friend.  He never really wore them so they are basically new.  Not my favorite shoes, but not horrible either.  They are good shoes for a casual day on the trails such as today.  Can't miss them with that color combo either.

Week of 12-5-11; Round 2 of Wilson 20 miler

This week has been a busy one as always; but for some reason there has been more stress and late nights preparing lessons and grading than usual. As a result, it was a week of little sleep and lots of coffee.

Monday: 7 mile run with coworker, Joe T., and a freshmen who is probably going to tear it up in a couple years.

Tuesday: 6 miles at the Deer Flat trail by Lake Lowell. Ran in a new trail shoe, the La Sportiva Wildcat's, and did 6x2 minutes at 5k effort through the hilly section on that trail.

Wednesday: 3.5 miles from Skyview High School to the Wilson Ponds and back. This was a much needed recovery day.

Thursday: 5 miles at the Nampa Rec Center. 1st mile was a warm-up and then I progressively got faster until I was running about 6:30 per mile. This actually felt pretty good and I was wearing the Wildcat's again to try and get used to them.

Friday: Day off!

Saturday: 20.3 miles around the Wilson Creek trails on the Frozen 50k loop. This time around it was a bit colder and it was just Tony Salazar Jr. (aka Fast Tony) and myself that were running together. There were probably about 40 people out there running various distances. The director of the Foothills Frenzy 50k was out there with an aid station set up for people running the 10 miler and the 20 miler. I also found out that Joe T. was out there running, although I never met up with him.
The 20 mile loop never gets easy, but I can definately say it was easier this week than 3 weeks ago. When I combine that observation with the fact that I ran 8 minutes faster in colder weather I felt pretty good about the whole run. Fast Tony wasn't feeling the greatest physically this week so when we hit the big descent section he hung back and I just went with what felt good. It was a very fun day out there, although I can't imagine running 10 more miles when I finish the 20 mile loop on January 21st. It will definately be a test of my limits and mental fortitude.
I mentioned it was colder this week, I saw temps as low as 11 degrees F while driving to the trail. The cool thing was, the run happened to fall on a night with a full lunar eclipse, and that eclipse happened right before we took off on the run. It was really quite amazing!
Running up the trail in the dark was pretty cool. I look forward to doing this again soon.
Standing on top of Wilson Peak for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. It never gets "easy" but it was easier this time.
There are some really cool rock formations on the way down from the summit. I snapped this one, and the one below of Fast Tony right before we split up for the day to run our separate paces. Sunday: I haven't made it through today yet, but most likely I'll take one of the kiddos out for a ride in the jogging stroller or take a good hard nap. Not a bad way to end a week.

"The Devil's Treadmill"

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go out and run the Wilson Creek Trails with a few people on the Boise Trail Runners Facebook group. Emily Berriochoa organized the event, and the loop chosen was the first 20.5 mile loop of the 50K I'm taking on in January. Anytime there is an opportunity to run with a group I like to join in, but I was a little apprehensive about taking on this loop this early into my training for the 50k. I realized that if I went I wouldn't be able to push too hard and I might be pretty flat coming off that effort for the week to come. Regardless, I decided to head out and see how the day went. Walking was something I knew I may have to do, and as I found out, there's nothing wrong with that when your training for a very difficult ultra.

Emily set the run to start at 7 am and with the early start and the usual November weather here in Idaho, the temps were cold but bearable. Standing around at the beginning while runners do what they normally do before a big run was a bit chilly, and as a result I probably wore a bit too many layers for the run. No matter; carrying more weight than I will in the race will prepare me to run faster when the time come.

As we got started, it wasn't long until Tony Salazar and I were off on our own and working our way up the first hill. Up ahead we saw another runner (Dallas) who waited for us and the three of us ran together for another mile until the first "real" hill of the loop. The trail goes through a small little canyon at the beginning. The scenery right through here was amazing, but it was still just a little too dark to get a clear picture. As the three of us power hiked the first climb we were joined by Ryan Lund who hustled to catch us so he knew where to go. This addition gave us a group of four which we held together until the end of the day. The picture below is the view shortly after topping out the first climb and moving up and across the plateau.

The route goes gradually up to around mile 4 where we got a short break on a descent and then goes up again on a 4wd road to a faint trail that drops down to the main Wilson Creek Road. This was a fun little descent and I'm looking forward to running this specific section again in the future. Meanwhile, the temperatures were playing tricks on us. Coming up the 4wd road we faced a stiff headwind bringing cold air down from up high, but when out of the wind on the sunnier side of the terrain we were overheating. Nevertheless, the temperatures were still brisk enough to freeze the bite valve on my Nathan HPL 020 hydration pack and give Dallas some interesting hat ornaments.Rejoining the main road, our pace turned very casual as we worked our way gradually up to the 4wd trail that takes you up to the saddle between Wilson Peak and Soldiers Cap. The road was nice and frozen so the footing was great and we had an opportunity to down some calories and get some much needed dihydrogen monoxide down (sorry, I'm a science teacher and had to throw that in there...). Tony Salazar informed us that Pop-Tarts were his food of choice during long runs and I must admit that they sounded pretty darn good at the time. I sucked down some nearly frozen Hammer Gel, took a couple Endurolytes, and ate my first of 3 Nature Valley dark chocolate granola squares. The only thing I may add to my race day nutrition would be some Perpetuem early on and some Heed later on in the run. Hammer stuff works very well for me, I tend to not use enough of it in most cases though.

When we finally turned towards Wilson Peak on the 4wd trail that goes up to the saddle, we chatted and tried to get to know each other a bit better. Dallas told us how he trains and if my wife thought I was a serious runner, she should listen to his 2-week training cycle, wow! He has also done about 10 ultras if my memory serves me correctly, in between being a science teacher as well and living in Germany for 10 years. Ryan was no slouch either, having a resume filled with marathons and the occaissional Ironman triathlon. This 20 mile run was part of his "taking it easy" this fall. And of course there is Fast Tony who has an extensive ultra background which includes running the Sawtooth Relay (same race I did with 6 people) by HIMSELF! I quickly found out I was in some very good company and I resolved to absorb as much knowledge I could from these much more experience runners.
(Heading up towards the saddle near Wilson Peak, the round dome in the center.)

The final push towards the saddle gets a bit steep, and with some snow covering the trail we took another walk. I have a few pictures of the group walking, but only a couple of us running that are blurry. We were just moving along too fast for me to get many great running shots, so when we hiked up the hills I made sure to get a few more shots.

Dallas and I were chatting away as we moved on from the saddle to the spur trail that takes you from the 4wd trail to the Wilson Peak summit which is about 13 miles into the 20 mile loop. Looking back down after we reached the top gave a great view of the wintery scene behind. The beauty of the following picture hides the fact that there was a stiff wind up on top. However, the view was well worth it...

(Previous shots are all from the summit at Wilson Peak.)

Freezing in the cold wind, we decided to book it down and start the grueling descent off the back side of the mountain. Arriving back at the saddle we met up with another Tony, Tony Huff. This Tony was making good time and was actually the guy Ryan rode over here with from Boise, however, it was a little too cold for us to wait for him to go top out Wilson and join us so we proceeded with the descent. If you're reading this to get an idea what the route is like for this loop, know that you must save some legs for the downhill. It is one of the steepest trails you will run, and it is relentless. The elevation gained in the first 13 miles is lost in less than 5 and the quads will be crying uncle if you overdo it in the ascent.

Coming down the mountain is always a good feeling but it seriously challenges your strength and mental fortitude. Looking backwards towards Wilson Peak two miles into the descent you realize how steep it really is. Below you can see Wilson on the left side of the shot. It was hard to believe that 2 or 3 miles ago we were standing on top.

Another tricky thing about this loop is that the downhill is peppered with super steep "ups" that break your downhill rhythm and force you back into power hiking mode. It just never gets easy on the way down. A times you can barely lower yourself down the slope in control. The quads and hip flexors were really feeling the burn by the time we got down. My La Sportiva Crosslite 2.0's were beautiful for this downhill, however. Not a single slip, period. They also did very well on the snowy uphills on the way up to Wilson Peak. Below is a shot of the typical terrain and one of the little bumps that we experienced on the way "down" the mountain.

Just when your quads are screaming the most, the trail turns from mostly packed sand to loose "baby head" rocks and gravel. This unwelcome addition to the difficulty level is offset by the amazing view looking down into Reynold's Creek and the fact that we were almost down the mountain and onto the final push across the rolling terrain for the last 2.5 miles.

Once down the mountain we trotted back on the trail towards the parking lot. I really was feeling the bonk by this time. Something about running 1+ hrs longer than I ever have with 4900' of vertical in temperatures hovering in the upper 20's can apparently wear a person down. I was very glad to make it back to the parking lot were the four of us took a group shot for the sake of the great day we just had. Of course, you can see Wilson Peak directly behind us.

Post run I downed a special chocolate milk mix and granola. Trying to change out of my sweaty trail running gear was probably the hardest part of the whole day. I sat in the car and began to try and pull of the tights and the cramps started. First in the quads, then my groin muscles, and finally my calves. OUCH! Fortunately, the milk and food kicked in fast and I experienced the cramping for a few minutes and then it was over. Scenes from Dean Karnazes' first 50 mile experience documented in his book, Ultramarathon Man, kept coming to my mind as I sat in the car. Thankfully, no projectile vomit came out. The stomach was never an issue at all today, something I'd attribute to the Hammer products and consistent effort level that we put out for the 4 hour run.

My final time for the loop was within my secret goal of under 4 hours; 3:57:31. Hopefully I can knock another 30 minutes or so off by January 21st. We'll see, but I know that I will definitely be taking on this loop again as soon as possible. It is a must run in the valley for any trail runner. Someone of Facebook said the loop should be renamed "The Devil's Treadmill" which may not be too far of a stretch. However, I would place this loop as a far cry from hell and more like a glimpse into the beauty of God's creation best felt rather than seen. There is no doubt that if you do this loop you will be "feeling" that beauty for a few days every time you have to walk down a set of stairs.

Taking a break...

After recovering from the trip to Ohio, things have been strangly busy around here. We were constantly doing something, or, we were totally wiped out and thus, doing nothing. I have been having some good training, but just to see, I decided to run a little loop called "Wilson Creek Mini-Moab" out of the Boise area trail guide. The difficulty rating on this loop is "Gonzo" whatever that means. Apparently, as I found out, it means "you will regret trying this and you should plan on being sore for 6 full days afterward." Anyway, 15.6 miles and 3000 feet of elevation change and you have yourself a dirty little pain in the quads. I had planned on running the loop with company, but apparently they all knew better and stayed home, so after 3 hours of intense physical effort, I completed the longest distance I've yet to run and the most vertical feet I've ever traveled by foot before. I should note that I knew exactly what this loop entailled because I rode it with a couple of friends back in the Cafferty's days and vowed to never take my race bike back there again. Regardless, this insanely challenging workout left me feeling the need to switch it up a bit so I decided to put the shoes away for a week and do some riding. Sunday I rode my Neuvation F100 road bike on a sunrise ride up to the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge. It was a great ride, but I and decided that the frame just wasn't working out for me so I listed it on Ebay (just the frame, so I still have all the necessary ingredients of an awesome road bike but lack the bike itself...) and sold by Tuesday. That left me riding my old friend, the shiny Sette Razzo 29er for the remainder of the week. Needless to say it was a great week of doing something different and just enjoying the outdoors and the feeling of movement and speed. The week was capped off by a great little ride in the Boise foothills on some of my favorite trails.

(Looking back down to Boise from the 8th street parking lot at the access point for trail 4.)

(The last section of our ride took us to Bogus Basin Road via "Corrals")

(Close up shot of the Razzo, love those big 29 inch wheels!)

I managed to land some great company this time, with Mike Lapp and his father-in-law joining me. We covered about 14 miles and about 1500 to 2000 vertical feet. Looking back, we rode less than I ran one week earlier, ouch... No wonder I was so sore.

Now its Monday again, and I have put my feet to the road once again. Six miles in 43 minutes on an 85 degree day tells me my legs are fresh again and ready for the big push to a fall race. If I could just decide what that will be... I'll be looking forward to some time on the bike when necessary.

"There's no place like home..."

(This post is a bit delayed... but better late than never :)

Every summer since moving to Idaho five years ago, My wife and I have made a trip back at least once a year. This year being no different, we loaded up our suitcases and headed back to Ashland, Ohio for a 12 day visit to all our family and close friends. As with most trips back, we faced a big agenda of visiting loved ones, and it seems that every time we go we end up more anxious to move back than before. I'm sure this has something to do with the nostalgia of our hometown and the comfy feeling of the small town life. But in more ways than one, this trip seemed to be resonating with the sound of coming home. Not only to our hometown, but to my "home" for outdoor lifestyle that I'm passionately pursuing the best I can. There was a great race at Mohican to do, a fantastic bike ride through amish country, and of course a brief reprieve from parenthood while Michelle and I stayed at the Landoll Castle. Before we jump into the story, here's a picture I just had to share from my "heat" acclimation I had been doing before traveling back east at the beginning of the recent heat wave they have been dealing with. It was 90+ degrees the day I ran my last long run before heading back. Needless to say, the kiddy pool was as close as I could get to a dip in a mountain stream, but it was refreshing none the less.

Flying across the country with two small kids is a test of endurance all by itself. Upon arriving we were immersed into the whirlwind tour to see as many people as we could, and see the most important ones more than once... it was exhausting but good. I took a break from the tour the first Saturday morning to race the Mohican Xterra 19k. The profile for this course looks basically like a sawblade. No real flat sections, very technical, and very steep. I managed to run almost exactly 8 min/mile pace for the roughly 11 mile race, finishing 6th overall and 2nd in the under 39 age group. Not a bad race by any means. Then it was back to the tour...

About halfway through the week, my little daughter, Kara, learned to give kisses. In fact, she's basically growing like a weed and learns something new everyday, its going to be hard to go back to work in a week. In between touring families and trying to sneak in some running, My father-in-law, Mike, and brother-in-law, Stoffer, were able to take off on a bike ride through rural Ashland and Wayne County, Ohio. As would be the case, I neglected to take the camera along for the ride, which is probably just as well because if anyone saw how beautiful the area is it would become overridden with yuppies and granolas and the vibe would be lost. As it is, the only thing separating me from riding this area everyday for the rest of my life is about 2000 miles and 3 days by car to get there. Someday though...

The tour also took a break long enough for Michelle and I to head back to our honeymoon spot, Landoll's Mohican Castle, for a 1 night get-away. We stayed in one of their more toned down rooms, which wasn't exactly what I'd expect from the Castle, but nevertheless, the company was excellent and the food was good so it was a blessing to be there. Next time I am bringing trail running shoes along as well. Miles of trails surround the Castle and I intend on exploring them at somepoint.

I cannot continue to say how good it was to be "home" in Ohio. Myles loved being around his grandparents, swimming at the great-grandparents' pool, and playing outside at the Stoffer's home. He discovered bubbles and spent a few hours perfecting his bubble-stroke.

Each time we go back, its hard to leave, but then again, its good to be back to our "home" in Idaho. The humidity was suffocating, and we left at the beginning of the heat dome that settled into the area for some time. We had some great times with family and cannot wait to see them again. For now, Idaho is where we live, but our hearts are with family and friends back in Ashland, Ohio.

Summer Life

After all the stress and work of bringing another school year to a close, then diving right into the Sawtooth logistics, and then a visit from my mom (blessing to have her here) I think I have finally settled into the summer life. It has been pretty mild summer weather out here in Idaho; with this week being the first of several hot ones, its nice to see that summer has finally showed up. That's not so say that everything has been bliss, but it certainly is great to be home with my wife and kids all day. It has been a bit difficult to squeeze in all the miles I was expecting to, but I think I've about found my rythym and just for backup I picked up a Bob Revolution Jogger to help make some miles go by with one of the little ones moving the ducks and squirrels out of the way on the Nampa greenbelt.

(First run with the Bob. About 7 miles on some hilly roads in South Nampa. Myles is hiding under the blanket and the giant stuffed elephant... excuse me, "Mr. Elephant")

Unfortunately, due to a shopping trip to buy a clearance "jumbo" size suitcase I had to skip today's planned workout, but got a good laugh. We grabbed a sweet deal on a Samsonite so we could save baggage fee's on our upcoming trip to Ohio. At the store I asked Myles if he wanted to jump in it. I think the sales associate was a bit disturbed by that, but he loved crawling inside it and I zipped him up, then let him pop out with a big "ta-dah!" It happens to be one that has four wheels and can move upright, so it was pretty funny to see him wheeling it through the store after we picked it out as well, lots of smiling and giggling from the other customers as he peeked over the top and pushed it up to the checkout counter. By the time we got home, Michelle needed to get rest for a big push of 3 in-a-row at work (She will be working at the hospital 36 of the next 72 hours, all night shifts so zzz's are a necessity). I hate missing workouts (which gave me a bit of the grumpies this afternoon), but at least its not motivation or injury holding me back, so I know the workout will come when I have time. It is great to have someone who love's her family enough to put herself through that kind of workload so we can take trips and keep the kids out of daycare as much as possible.

The cool thing about the suitcase is that it'll let me fit my Sportie's for a trail race in Ohio and my bike shoes for a long ride with the father-in-law. It'll be nice to have a longish stay there this time around. Beyond the next trail race, its hard to say what kind of races I show up at this fall, but I know you certainly won't see me at too many 5k's unless I'm pushing the Bob. I'm in the mood for a challenge, so we'll see. Maybe adding a zero to the 5 would be more fun... I may end up at a half-marathon in October, and perhaps will jump in the Harvest Classic 8k here in Nampa just for "fun" in September. I'm just soaking in the blessing of being able to run at the moment. But still... a 50k on October 22nd on my favorite Boise foothill trails is beckoning me to run. I have learned from my predictions of the Mohican Mtb 100 that I couldn't attend to keep long range goals drawn in the sand, but October isn't too far away, and a few longer runs here and there could get me ready for a great day on the trails in Boise. Who needs the marathon? I might just pull a Dean Karnazes this fall...

Sawtooth Relay Race Report, 2011

(Sorry for the delay in this race report... it has been a busy week and I haven't really had much chance to work on it. Hope you enjoy this account of "Bazinga!'s Sawtooth Relay 2011)

Alright, another year of the Sawtooth Relay has came and went. For those of you who want the quick story, it basically unfolded like this... Our team ran very well and posted a time of around 7:40 for the 62 mile relay. This was good enough for around 6th overall (out of 300+ teams) and 1st outright in the men's open division. Check out the full results here. We got passed by a coed team in the last mile that had a potential olympian (we were told). Two high school teams ran to first and second overall, and a solo ultrarunner clocked an impressive 8:50 ish time by himself. The long story is as follows:
My brother-in-law and his wife got in late Wednesday from Ohio and by Thursday at lunch we were on the road for Stanley, Idaho. The drive from Nampa to Stanley takes about 3.5 hours, but after you get past Eagle, the scenery just doesn't stop. It was a great way to begin what turned out to be a great trip.

We headed up to Glacier View Campground and arrived shortly before 4 pm. On the way up, we decided that our best chance to nab a great hike was to go right away and so from about 4 to 6:15 pm we hiked and ran up the Alpine Way Trail from the Redfish Lake trailhead. It is a pretty gnarly trail that gains 900 feet or so in less than a half mile and then levels out along a beautiful ridgeline for quite a ways until it veers north towards Marshall Lake. We hoped to make it to Marshall lake but it really was too ambitious given the amount of snow still up high. In many places we were bushwacking along the trail because several feet of snow still covered the actual trail. Eventually we got to the point where the trail starts to turn North and decided that we should head back before it got to be too late. Before we headed down, we stopped for some photos. I could look up the names of these peaks, but for time sake I'll just let you know they are pretty awesome to see in person.

Aside from the snow, the short hike was pretty uneventful. It was just great to be in the mountains exploring a new place and hanging out with my hiking buddy Stoffer. Fortunately, back a camp we were able to start a fire quickly and eat some quick grub. A foil pack with beef, potatoes, tomatos, onions, and black beans gave us the carbs and protein we were craving after spending a couple hours out moving rather steadily up and down a decent vertical gain.

As the night settled in, the lack of any clouds whatsoever allowed the temperature to drop quickly and we decided to hit the sleeping bags early. My only regret of the trip was not getting up to see the stars that night, they were surely magnificient and I'm bummed that I missed them. That feeling was quickly dissipated by this awesome shot I got in the morning Friday.

The plan on Friday was to hang out and rest, but it wasn't long before we were out exploring near the camp and found some interesting sights, but most of them wouldn't really qualify for blog worthiness content, however, they served to entertain and more importantly, Stoffer and I got to have some of our favorite old contests; skipping stones (most and farthest categories), precision stone throwing (pick a target and hit as creatively as possible with a rock), log hopping across the lake outlet (only one wet foot for me).

Afternoon rolled around, and when the rest of the team showed up, we headed out on a run to explore the Fishhook Creek Trail. This is the reward for the 5 mile round trip. Best 5 miles all year so far to say the least.

(Sam in his element) (Team Bazinga! minus Cynthia and Joe; Sam, Stoffer, Me, Bill, and Mike)

You'll notice this character in the photo above, and of course doing his version of fire starting below. This is Sam Collier and he is the best possible person we could have had on our team for a volunteer. He is an ultrarunner and agreed to come up with us at the last minute and fill in. What a blessing it was to get to know him and have him on our team.

After we finished our run and Sam started the fire with his um... lighter, I decided to try and take a dip in Redfish lake. Let's just say that the water temperature was slightly warmer than the North Pole and I made it to my waist and decided to just soak the lower half for ten minutes rather than go completely under. I wished to be clean, but not to be hypothermic so an lower leg ice bath was an appropriate compromise.

Race morning came and we went to the start. It was a great morning and the weather looked to be fantastic again this year. Our team had a minor logistic concern when Bill left the wrist band in his sweats and then we dropped it as we jogged to our vechicle after the race began. Luckily, Stoffer was able to spot the band when we raced back to the start and we were able to proceed without any time being lost or the dreaded "DQ" that could have been the result.

By the end of the first exchange, I was super-stoked to see Michelle and the kids up on the course. Michelle was the real hero of the trip, she watched our kids, and also the Lapp's little girl while us runners were out inflicting pain on ourselves. She did a great job just managing three little ones (with the help of her sister, Stoffer's wife, Rebecca). I don't think our team could have raced without her up there, and she managed to find fun things for the kids to do in Sun Valley all day. There's a reason why I married this woman, she is amazing!

Everyone ran super strong all morning as we managed to stay in 3rd position all the way over the summit of Galena Pass. I was really excited to run the mountain this year, I felt strong as I ran up, but was definately limited by the altitude and managed to run 8:30/mile up the 1300'+ of vertical in about 5.3 miles. It was a challenge I would love to try again someday, but next time I run this race, I really want to run down the pass, it seems that would be a bit more fun...

By the time we were on the homestretch of the race, we managed to pick up a friendly rivalry with another team. They were out to get us, but we just managed to stay ahead until the last leg where I was chased down by a sub-15 minute 5k running chick with knee-high socks and not much else on. I ran sub-6:00/mile on the final stretch, but she just was too tough for me on that day. Everyone on the team ran strong all day and we managed to come home with 1st place in the Men's division. All the teams that beat us were younger, faster, and in some way were involved with an organized running team (high school or college). It felt awesome to come home with a first place award after taking second last year. Our time was 4 minutes slower than last year's, but we faced a stiff headwind for the last 3 legs that I think accounts for that difference in time. In conclusion, it was a race to remember, but the weekend itself was even more memorable. The team had great chemistry this year and we had no weak links. It will be fun to see how everyone does as they pursue their personal racing goals this fall. I am incredibly thankful and blessed to be able to share this race with the people I did.
(Chris Stoffer, Me, Bill Rupp, Mike Lapp [with baby Evie], Cynthia Lapp, and (not pictured) Joe Terrazas made up our team. Sam Collier was our amazing volunteer, and Michelle and Rebecca did the babysitting duties for all the little ones.)

Part 2: "Thank you sir may I have another?"

After the disappointing race out on the range, I was really feeling the blues about running poorly after putting in such a hard spring of training. Part of the disappointment was that I couldn't finish the task I started, which was to really run fast again in a race since I walked away from running in college to pursue other things. The Sunday morning after the High Desert race, my good friend Mike Lapp mentioned that he was going to be running the following Saturday out in Marsing for another half-marathon. I had already been thinking about joining him, but then he said that not many people were registered and I really got excited about him and I running near the front of a race. My poor race was fresh in my mind, and I decided that giving another shot at the 13.1 mile distance wouldn't be that far out if I could recover well during the week between. After a week of ice baths, easy runs, and lots of laying down, I found myself at the starting line of the "Legacy of Service 1/2 Marathon" feeling pretty good physically, but feeling even better spiritually and emotionally after finishing my teaching commitments for the school year.

Warming up before the race I simply asked God to help me put my hope in Him as he commands in Isaiah 40: "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." The race was to honor the fight against ALS and raise money for local church missions, so I was pleased to have a prayer said before the start. We were all standing there for about ten minutes as they made some speaches about ALS and said the mentioned prayer. I felt as many eyes were checking out the big cross on my back and I felt as if God was holding me there at the start like a lamp on a stand. "Bring it on God, I want to glorify your name in this race."

The course looked to be a great one, going uphill for the first 3.5ish miles and then super flat for 6 miles, and finally a big downhill run to the finish of the loop. The weather was also looking much more promising for running fast, race time temperature was around 49 degrees and there was just a light breeze... Perfect!

Mike and I typically run pretty similar in workouts, so the plan was to take off together and then see how things went after we ran through the first few miles but, when the gun went off, it wasn't long before I realized that today might be a special day and I should just trust God to see where he might take me in this run...

Two guys jumped out to an early big lead, then a couple of stragglers, and finally me. One of those stragglers just happened to be a 12 year old named Jack. Here was a young kid named Jack who ran this race, I remember him because he must have thought I looked fast in my yellow FCA Endurance singlet because he came over and talked to me at the starting line and compared me to ultramarathon legend Scott Jurek... that'd be something to run like that guy... anyway, Jack ran supererb for a 12 year old. I passed Jack on the 2nd mile and we chatted about the two guys leading the race... "Do you think those guys are for real?" I said. "I don't know, they look pretty old" Jack responded. Trying not to laugh too hard I replied, "Well, I guess I better go and find out..." and with that I felt the competitive juices start firing and I started reeling in the early leaders up the first uphill miles of the race.

I kept in pursuit of the two at the front until I caught them at the 3 mile mark. I was running easily up the hill so I decided to keep on the gas over the top. We came through the 3 mile mark in 21:08 and I hadn't even started feeling like I was working yet, so I pushed on right past the leaders and ran a 6:46 mile to finish the uphill and level out to the 4 mile mark. At this point, one of the runners who had been leading, named Brandon, had joined me and we chatted about the weather and such and powered to the 5 mile mark at 34:37, or a 6:42 mile for those keeping track. When I looked at my watch I couldn't really believe what I was seeing, I had no idea I was ready to run these kind of times, so I anticipated a break-down later on but kept pushing on with Brandon because I really wasn't redlined and I had no reason to slow down at the moment.

After the 5 mile mark, Brandon and I really dropped the hammer and rattled off the next few miles in 6:25, 6:35, and 6:32. After the 8 mile mark, I was thinking about the win so I backed off the pace a bit to see what Brandon would do, to my surprise he slowed down too so I knew he was hurting or he would have kept going; we ran the 9th mile in 6:43. I couldn't believe what was happening, yet I still felt in control. I was sitting in the lead and it appeared that my competition was starting to feel the pressure so right after the 9th mile aid station I noticed Brandon dropped back to take in fuel and I took off. The 10 mile had a significant drop so I opened up and ran a 6:13 mile. By now I had a decent lead but hadn't cracked Brandon so I kept on the gas and ran a 6:11 for mile 11.

Just when I thought I might have had the win locked up when right after the 11th mile aid station Brandon came back on me and we battled until mile 12 where he pulled away. I couldn't respond to his surge and even though I finished the last 2.1 miles at 6:20/mile pace Brandon went home with the win. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't pull out the win, but who can complain about a 12 minute PR (1:26:38) and second place overall. Mike finished with a good race himself, just breaking 1:34 at 1:33:59 and 5th overall. Oh, and Mike's Dad Richard busted out a 15 second PR as well, coming in around 1:59 and change.

Following the race I met up with Michelle who had brought the kids out and I chased Myles around on the playground while Kara ate her lunch. It seemed like God was giving me a great big bear hug and a high five for a race well run. I hope that I have that feeling again sometime soon because it is truly addicting. I felt content that I had regained at least part of the speed I once had but on with my God backing me up this time. It is a moment worth remembering, so I'm glad my face shows the joy in the following picture.

(Myles always seems to look way cooler in these things than I do so I let him do the honors and receive my second place medal.)

Next up, the Sawtooth Relay with the Galena Summit scheduled to be tackled. Brother-in-law and best friend Chris Stoffer will be coming out from Ohio, Mike will be there, and Joe Terrazas from Skyview where I work. It should be a great time with lots more good scenery and suffering...

Les Bois 10K Race Report

The Les Bois 10k turned out to be a pleasant surprise in terms of the quality of the course, the race organization, and the level of competition present. I went into the race relatively unaware of the challenges of the course, something that is unusual for me as I tend to over-obsess about every minute detail when it comes to races. Regardless, I found myself waking up on Saturday morning to rain and knew that I would be in for a "fun" race no matter what.

When I got to the race, I found a great parking spot by the finish and was able to quickly sign in and get my race packet. I had previously decided that I would start warming up about 1/2 hour before the race and this turned out the be perfect given the rain and relatively mild temperature. My standard warm-up is about two miles easy, and I took liberty to run it on the first mile of the course to scout out the elevation change. The course kicks up just after the first mile and I was unaware, so the second and third mile of the race certainly were a surprise to say the least. After my warm-up, I downed a Hammer Gel (Espresso) and some Fizz and got my race shirt on. Fortunately, the warm-up calmed my nerves and I felt ready to race by the time we were called to the start. Looking around the start, I realized there were some fast guys present and I made a quiet decision to not go with them at all from the gun. Thankfully, I made a good choice because they were off at a sub-5 min/mi pace and a few poor souls tried to actually go with them. Most of the fast starters held a strong pace to the end, a few guys faded, but I noticed that the race was pretty much in order by the end of the first mile.

My first mile ticked by in 6:16 and I felt strong but knew that I perhaps would fade on the hill to come. As mentioned, the course really heads up after the mile mark and by the second mile split I was at 8:00/mi. Perhaps I went out a bit hard, but I knew that the steep up meant a fast down so I just tried to hold it together on the uphill. Mile 3 rolled by and I had picked up the pace a notch to 7:55/mi. Finally I hit the turn around and was ready to rock and roll on the downhill. I noticed a couple of guys tailing me on the way up, and one had passed me around the 2.5 mile mark, so I prepared to hit "flying squirrel mode" and took off down the steep muddy trail. Even with a bit of uphill in the 4th mile split, I managed to drop my pace down to 6:26 by the 4 mile mark. By then I was just going as fast as I could and hit the 5 mile at 5:40. Between mile 5 and 6 the course is downhill but the footing is solid and fast, and I still hadn't caught anyone, so I just let it go and through down a 5:07 mile for the 6th split. I caught the guy in front of me but couldn't drop him, and he managed to pass me back before the finish. Knowing I had missed my secret goal time of 40 minutes, I was content to let him go and take my 9th overall finish. I crossed the line with a 40:54 time on a hilly, wet, and muddy course, so I was pretty happy with my finish, that is until my name showed up on the results as the 1st overall female... opps, I must have clicked the wrong box... too bad I didn't shave this morning... haha. With the error corrected, I stayed and ate a couple homemade "Marathon Muffins" made by the race director's mother, delicious! The prizes were only going to the top 5 overall so I hung out and tried my hand a raffle prize, but ultimately left empty handed. Good thing I grabbed 4 chocolate milks from the post-race spread.

So now its Tuesday and the race has not faded from my memory too much since my legs are still reminding me of the efforts running up and down the awesome course. I thought the course would be a bit lame, but it ended up being a great start to the trail racing season and I'm already looking forward to the Dry Creek Half-marathon on April 2nd... that is, as soon as I can walk down stairs again...

My race pictures...

Ready to Run!

Ok, here it goes... Tomorrow it will be one week since my last workout of any kind (minus and few pushups every day) so I think it is time to give it a shot. I definately have the coughing under control and the legs are feeling flat but completely rested otherwise. I took one week off to kick this cold/mystery illness that wouldn't let me go for the past few weeks. Prior to that, I even took several days off or easy, so I SHOULD be ready for a re-entry tomorrow. However, with that in mind, I'll still be taking it very cautious and watching my energy and rest to make sure I'm healthy when it really matters.

The positive side is that I've had a lot of time to think and pray and really was awakened today at church by the short video which finally made me realize that I'm not listening to God at the moment... it was hard to hear and realize that, but after digesting that all day, I ready to move forward with that in mind. I often become so obsessed with whatever I'm doing that I neglect to remember the point of it all is to Glorify God and bring Him praise. Wow, now that I write it, its even become more clear. When I started this journey I was reminded of how the man who hears God's word and puts it into action is like the wise builder who built his house on the rocks. When storms came, his home was secure because it had a firm foundation. As the storms of life have hit me these last few weeks I've been constantly trying to rebuild my sand castle without wisely moving my house back onto the rocks. (see Matthew 7:24-27)



I was also reminded today of how Christ expects me to show my faith. It is by action through works motivated by love of neighbor and Christ. In the sermon this morning, Pastor Johnson addressed being the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). I've come to the conclusion that its pretty hard to be either of those without first allowing Christ to be number one in life. I know that I was putting a lot of other things before Christ these last few weeks (not JUST running, but yep, that's one of 'em) so as I begin the restoration of my health and fitness tomorrow, it will be only through Christ that I stand and run. "[For] those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary." (Isaiah 40:31)

Starting my 1st leg at the 2010 Sawtooth Relay